Royal Mail and Post Office partner on trial of 24/7 parcel lockers over six month period

Royal Mail and Post Office are partnering to introduce parcel lockers at Post Office branches across the UK. The six-month trial will see lockers installed outside stores with 24/7 availability.

These offer another option to send, collect and return parcels and feature label printing. To use them, customers need to pay for postage online and get a QR code, or request a QR code if they are returning a purchase.

Royal Mail now has over 24,000 locations where customers can drop off and collect parcels, including 2,400 lockers, 11,500 Post Office branches, almost 8,000 Royal Mail Shop outlets, 1,200 Royal Mail customer service ooints and 1,400 parcel postboxes.

Anna Malley, Director of Partnerships and Acquisitions at Royal Mail, says: “Post Office is one of Royal Mail’s most important partners, and this is an exciting step forward in how we work together. The trial reflects our commitment to meeting a wide range of customer needs whilst also maintaining existing options. It’s about making life easier for our customers by giving them a choice that suits their individual preferences.”

Neill O’Sullivan, Mails and Parcels Director at Post Office, says: “We are delighted that after a 370-year partnership with Royal Mail, we continue to innovate and ensure parcel services meet the needs of customers who want the flexibility of using a locker for their parcel collection and delivery.”

“We will evaluate this trial, and in particular the benefits it has brought to our postmasters and look forward to working with Royal Mail over the next few months on this trial.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Parcel lockers will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.